Greek in a Nutshell by James Strong

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JAMES STRONG, S.T.D.,Professor of Exegetical Theology in Drew Theological Seminary

NEW YORK: EATON & MAINSCINCINNATI: JENNINGS & GRAHAM

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, byNELSON & PHILLIPS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congressat Washington.

PREFACE.

This little Manual was originally prepared for the NORMAL CLASS, atthe request of the editor of that Journal, and was at the same timeexpected to form an instruction book at the Sunday-School Assemblyannually held at Chautauqua. This accounts for its form in twelveseries of two pages each. The reading lessons, however, have beenmade sufficiently full for subsequent study. Of course the simplestelements only of the Greek language can be comprised in such narrowlimits; nor can a full vocabulary or ready facility be acquired in soshort a course. Nevertheless, a good beginning may be made, and thatis "half the battle" in any enterprise. It is believed that a thoroughmastery of this small volume will prove a conquest over all the realdifficulties of the original tongue of the New Testament.

1. α sounds broad, like _a_ in _arm_, at the end of a word,and before ρ final or ρ followed by a different consonant.

2. γ has the nasal sound, like _ng_ in _king_, before γ,κ, χ, or ξ.

3. ι has its long sound, like _i_ in _machine_, at the endof a syllable.

Every letter is sounded, and, with the above exceptions, invariablythe same.

2. ACCENT.

§ 3. Each word, except a very few monosyllables, has one of thefollowing accents written over a vowel in it, which marks the place ofthe spoken tone. A few small words, called _enclitics_, generallythrow their accent, as an acute, on the last syllable of the precedingword.

§ 4. The _acute_ ('), which is the foundation of all theaccents, stands on one of the last three syllables. In verbs, with theexception of certain forms, it stands as far toward the beginning ofthe word as the rules below allow. In other parts of speech it standson the same syllable as in the ground-form, (that given in thelexicon,) except as required by these rules. When the last syllablehas a long vowel or diphthong it stands on the syllable before thelast.

§ 5. The _grave_ accent (`) is only written in place of theacute on the last syllable when not before a pause, or whenunemphatic. It is understood to belong to all other syllables.

§ 6. The _circumflex_ (~) is placed on a syllable formed bythe combination of two, the first of which had an acute and the seconda grave; hence only on the last, or next to the last syllable, andonly on a long vowel or a diphthong. When the last syllable has ashort vowel, such a penult, if accented, takes the circumflex.

3. BREATHINGS, VOWELS, DIPHTHONGS, ETC.

§ 7. A vowel beginning a word takes either the _roughbreathing_, (῾), which is pronounced like _h_, or else, toshow the absence of that, _the smooth breathing_, (᾿), whichhas no appreciable sound. Initial ρ and υ always take the roughbreathing; and double ρ in the middle of a word takes the smoothbreathing on the first, and the rough on the second.

§ 14. A _smooth_ final mute is roughened before a vowel with therough breathing. A rough mute is not doubled, nor can successivesyllables begin with an aspirate. A tau-mute is sometimes droppedbefore σ, and always before κ; before a different tau-mute it ischanged into σ.

§ 15. Before μ a kappa-mute is changed into γ, a pi-mute into μ,and a tau-mute into σ.

§ 16. ν before a kappa-mute becomes γ, before a pi-mute μ, beforea liquid (λ, μ, ν, or ρ) it is changed into the same liquid,before σ or ζ it is dropped.

§ 17. ν is appended to certain endings in σι or ε before a pauseor a vowel.

§ 18. There are several other less important rules, and someexceptions to most of the above.

§ 19. A _long vowel_ or _diphthong_ is used as anequivalent for two (usually short) vowels in immediate succession, oras a compensation for the omission of a consonant, sometimes for both.

§ 20. The changes in the union of two vowels are various, dependingupon their comparative strength, position, and relation to the longvowels, or diphthongs respectively. They are readily learned bypractice.

§ 21. Compensation is not always thus made for the omission of aconsonant. Sometimes the omission occurs too far back in thederivation to be easily traced.

§ 22. A final vowel is sometimes elided before another vowel, and itsplace indicated by the apostrophe, (').

§ 23. There are several _dialects_, which chiefly affect thevowels, (like provincial pronunciation;) but in later Greek (to whichthe New Testament belongs) they were merged in "the common dialect,"the Attic pre-dominating.

NOUNS.

Nouns are of three declensions, three genders, three numbers, and fivecases, all indicated by changes of termination.

§ 24. The declensions (numbered 1, 2, and 3) are only different modesof inflection.

§ 25. Names and designations of males, nations, the months, rivers,and winds, are almost invariably _masculine_; those of females,countries, islands, cities, trees, and plants, are usually_feminine_; of the _neuter_ gender are most names of fruitsand diminutives, and always the names of the letters, infinitives,clauses, indeclinable words, and words used as the symbol of asound. In the third declension especially the (grammatical) gender inmany instances is arbitrary.

§ 26. The _singular_ and _plural_ are used as inEnglish. The _dual_ denotes two or a pair; it is comparativelyrare, and never occurs in the New Testament.

§ 27. The _cases_ express the relations of words to each otherin a sentence, as follows:--

§ 29. The α in the terminations of the singular is mostly used whenρ, ε,or ι precedes it; and in the Nom., Acc., and Voc. when λ orσ, and frequently when ν, precedes it. A few nouns have α in theGen. sing.

§ 33. The Nom. sing. is so often changed by the euphonic rules thatthe stem of the noun is best seen in the Gen. Nouns in ις, υς, andευς take the (Attic) Gen. εως, (ω regarded as _short_.)The α of the Acc. sing. is usually after a consonant. Manyirregularities and some anomalies occur, which may generally belearned from the lexicon.

ADJECTIVES.

§ 34. These are _declined_ like nouns, having sometimes threesets of terminations for the respective genders, sometimes two, (masc.and fem. alike,) rarely but one, (all genders alike.) The masc. andneut. are always of the same declension, (second or third,) and thefem., when different, always of the first. _Participles_ aredeclined like adjectives.

§ 35. Adjectives are _compared_ either by using an adverbexpressive of degree, or, more regularly, by adding to the stem of thepositive the syllables ότερος or ίων for the comparative, andότατος or ιστος for the superlative. Some euphonic changesoccur in making these additions, which then take the regulardeclensional endings.

NUMERALS.

§ 36. The _cardinal_ numbers are either simple, (the units,tens, and a few others,) or compound, (intermediate numbers.) Thosefrom one to four inclusive, and the hundreds and thousands, aredeclined like adjectives. They may all be learned from the lexicon.

§ 37. The _ordinals_ are mostly formed from the cardinals byadjective endings.

PRONOUNS.

§ 38. Of the _personal_ pronouns, those of the 1st and 2dpersons only are specially noteworthy, being declined as nounsirregularly:--

§ 39. The rest are declined as adjectives--masc. ος, fem, η,neut. ο; often compounded, one or both parts being declined; but,with the exception of τις, (interrogative τίς, indefiniteτὶς,) neut. τι, Gen. τινος, of the third declension, the_article_ (definite only) and the _demonstrative_ alone arevery peculiar in declension, as follows:--

§ 40. There are three VOICES, _Active, Middle,_ and_Passive,_ generally distinguished by the _termination_.

The Middle is properly _reflexive_. Some of its tenses have an_active_ meaning. A few verbs, called _deponent_, arethroughout pass. in form, but act. or mid. in meaning.

§ 41. There are five MOODS in each voice, the _Indicative,Imperative, Subjunctive, Optative,_ and _Infinitive_, to whichmay be added the _Participles_; they are mostly known by means ofthe _union-vowel_--that which immediately precedes thetermination.

§ 42. The Indic., Imper., Infin., and Participles correspond to theEnglish, and have a _short_ union-vowel, (ε, ο, or α,) exceptthe Perf. and Pluperf. pass., which have no union-vowel; thePluperf. act. and mid., which have ει; and the Aorists pass., whichhave η or its equivalent.

§ 43. The Imper. has but two persons. 2d and 3d. The Infin. has butone termination for all numbers and persons, and is very often used asa neut. noun, with the article, etc., yet retaining its constructionas a verb.

§ 44. The Subj. and Opt. are used in certain _dependent_relations, like the English subjunctive and potential; the former hasa _long_ union-vowel, (η or ω,) and the latter a diphthong,(οι, αι, or ει.) The former generally represents an act ascontingent upon outward circumstances, and the latter upon a will.

§ 45. The TENSES are nine, the _Present, Imperfect, Perfect,Pluperfect,_ two _Aorists_, (1st and 2d, equivalent in sense,)and three _Futures_, (1st and 2d, equivalent to each other, and3d, very rarely used;) they are distinguished by certain lettersprefixed, inserted, or added to the stem or root of the verb. Theyrepresent time as compared with the _present_, and never datefrom that of a preceding verb.

§ 46. The Pres., Perf., Pluperf., and Fut. answer very nearly to thesame tenses in English.

§ 47. The Imperf. denotes an act as going on, but incomplete orhabitual at some time past: "was doing," etc.

§ 48. The Aorists indicate a single act at a definite time, (past inthe Indic., but undetermined in the others moods.)

§ 50. In the Pres. and Fut. the ο of the 1st sing. act. iscontracted (with the union-vowel) into ω, and the σαι of the 2dsing. pass. into ῃ or ει.

§ 51. Signification limits the primary terminations to the Indic. andSubj., and the secondary to the Indic. and Opt.: likewise theImperf. and Pluperf. to the Indic., and the Imper. to the Pres., theAorists and (rarely) the Perf.

§ 52. The _active_ terminations are assumed throughout by thePerf. and Pluperf. mid., and the Aorists pass.

§ 55. In the Participles the stem ends in ντ in the act. forms,(except the Perf. act. and mid., which have ότ;) the rest takeμεν, (Perf. pass, μέν.) These latter are [masc. and neut.] ofthe second declension, the others of the third.

§ 56. Verbs in μι insert σ before the final ι of the 3dpers. sing. Pres. Indic. act., and vary in a few other terminations,chiefly by contraction.

LESSON V.

VERBS--Continued.

§ 57. The root of every _primitive_ verb is a monosyllable,consisting of a short vowel (α, ε, ι, ο, or υ) between two(usually simple) consonants. Sometimes one or the other of the latterhas been dropped far back in the etymology. This root is most readilyfound in the 1st Fut., subject only to euphonic changes. The 2dAor. always has a monosyllabic root, with a single vowel never long;but this may be somewhat different from the true root. Primitive verbsonly have a 2d Aor.

§ 58. The Pres. and Imperf. commonly _strengthen_ the root,either by adding a hard consonant, (sometimes more than one,) or(oftener) by changing the root vowel into the corresponding long oneor diphthong.

§ 60. Tenses expressing _past time_ (Imperf. and Aorists Indic.)prefix ε ("syllabic _augment") to the root; this coalesces withan initial vowel ("temporal augment") into the corresponding longvowel or diphthong. The Perf., Pluperf., and 3d Fut. not only do thesame throughout the moods, but also prefix to the _syllabic_augment the initial consonant of the root ("reduplication") when thisis a simple consonant or a mute followed by a liquid. ThePluperf. prefixes a second syllabic augment to the reduplication.

§ 61. Initial ρ, (which is doubled after the syllabic augment,)βλ, γλ, and γν, do not, except in a few cases, allow thereduplication. Verbs compounded with a preposition generally take theaugment, etc., between it and the primitive. A few otherirregularities occur.

§ 62. Verbs are classified in conjugation according to the radicalletter following the root vowel, or diphthong, in the 1st pers. sing.Pres. Indic. act., lexicon form: in "liquid" verbs (not derivatives inάνω, which is merely strengthened for άω) this is a_liquid_; in "pure" verbs it is absent, so that the root appearsto end in a vowel, etc. Very many verbs seem to be anomalous in someof their forms in consequence of deriving these from an obsoletekindred root. The lexicon gives most of these peculiarities.

§ 63. _Liquid_ verbs almost always strengthen their root in thePres. and Imperf.; they lengthen it in the 1st Aor. act. and mid. bychanging the root vowel, if α into η, if ε into ει, while ι andν merely become long. ε as a root vowel is generally changed into αin the 1st Aor. and 1st Fut. pass., the Perf. and Pluperf. act. andpass., and the 2d Aor. and 2d Fut. throughout, and again into ο inthe Perf. and Pluperf. mid.

§ 64. The above strengthening in the Pres. and Imperf. consists indoubling λ, annexing ν to μ; or, in case of ν or ρ, in adding ιto a preceding α or ε, or lengthening ι or υ. The radical ν isoften dropped in Perf. and Pluperf.

§ 65. Verbs with ε followed by a pi- or kappa-mute in the rootfrequently neglect to strengthen it in the Pres. and Imperf.; andverbs with ε in the root preceded by a liquid, usually change it intoα and ο in the same tenses as liquid verbs, except in the 1stAor. and Fut. pass.

§ 66. _Pure_ verbs lengthen the root vowel before a tensecharacteristic, also in the Perf. and Pluperf. pass. A fewoccasionally neglect this, and some insert σ instead.

§ 67. Verbs in μι (lexicon form instead of ω) are but another modeof conjugating pure verbs (being the only primitives of that classwhose root ends in α, ε, or o) in the Pres., Imperf., and 2d Aor.;in all which tenses the union-vowel coalesces with the root vowel.They have a peculiar inflection, chiefly by reason of the Imperf. and2d Aor. act. taking throughout the terminations of the Aoristspass. The Pres. and Imperf. reduplicate with ι the initial consonant,(prefixing simply ί if that cannot be done, and sometimes adoptingother modes of strengthening,) and in the act. they lengthen the rootin the Indic., α or ε into η, ο into ω. The 2d Aor. (those inυμι being factitious have not this tense) has in the act. a longvowel or diphthong throughout, except the Imperative ε or o, and theParticiple.

§ 81. "_Local_," involving _external_ relations of space,either in a literal or a figurative sense. This includes actual_motion_ from an object, generally with a preposition, (ἀπόἐκ παρά;) _separation_ from it, usually with verbscompounded with a preposition; and _commencement_.

§ 82. "_Causal_," denoting a more _internal_ relation, asif the outgoing of some agency or property, as follows:--

§ 83. _Active_, either direct, inferential, ormetaphysical. This includes relations of source, (e.g., derivation,[commonly with ἐκ, sometimes ἀπό, direct authorship withὐπό,] possession, property, [often with an Infin.])_partitive_ use, (e.g., a class, material, partial relations,)and the Gen. of time, (in the _course_ of which,) especially the"Gen. absolute," with a Participle, as affording occasion.

§ 84. _Passive_, that is, indirect, the act being for the sakeof the Gen. This includes verbs implying a _mental operation_,adjectives, and other words denoting _skill_, and the Gen. of_crime_ or _purpose_, (the last mostly an Infin. with thearticle.)

§ 85. _Mutual_, e.g., _comparison_ and _price_ or _penalty_.

§ 86. The "attributive Gen." is a comprehensive relation, arisingunder several of the above heads, between two nouns designating_different_ objects, which may be thus expressed: _When twonouns are connected with each other, that one which completes the ideaof the other and defines it more fully is put in the Gen._

§ 88. "_Local_," involving the more palpable relations ofposition. This includes the place, (at, by, near, in the midst of;generally with ἐν, ἐπί, παρά, etc.,) _association,accompaniment,_ (frequently with σύν,) and the _time_ (as adate) or _circumstances_ of a transaction.

§ 95. "_Causal_," involving an influence, change, or result, asimpressed upon the object, as follows:--

§ 96. The _effect_, either the thing effected, an attribute ofthe effect, or the effect intended.

§ 97. The _object acted upon_, e.g., with directly transitiveverbs, those expressing a good or bad influence, patience, swearing,sometimes a mental affection, etc.; also the _space_ or_way_ after a verb of motion; the time, (_throughout_which,) measure, and weight; and finally ("Attributive Accusative")with any verb or adj. (sometimes other words) to define itsapplication more closely, especially if of kindred signification.

ORDER OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE.

§ 98. This is usually not, as in English, that of _grammatical_dependence, but rather the order of _thought_; important oremphatic words come first, after the connecting particles;prepositions and the article precede their nouns; and qualifying termsare grouped in a harmonious balance around the principal ones.

LESSON VII.

EXERCISE ON JOHN 1, 1-5.

1 Ἐν1 ἀρχῇ2 ἦν3 ὁ4 Λόγος,5 καὶ6 ὁ4 Λόγος6 ἦν3 In _the_ beginning was the Word, and the Word was

DIRECTIONS.--Spell the Greek, giving the _English_ equivalents ofthe consonants, (as in § 1,) and the exact _phonetic_ value orsound of the vowels. Call the rough breathing _h_. Be careful toput the spoken _accent_ where it is written. Continue thispractice through all the passages given in the following lessons,until the words can be pronounced readily and accurately. Familiarizeyourself with the forms of the letters by _writing_ them. Let thepupil do this while learning the foregoing grammatical lessons, andafter the recitation of each of them let the teacher direct attention,while the passage at the head of the reading lessons is pronounced, tothe examples illustrating each point, as they occur--by way ofparadigm.

Λίδωμι has ω as a union-vowel throughout the subj. (pres. and2d aor.) of both voices, and ἵστημι has α in the 2d and 3dsing., and 2d plur. of the subj. pres. All the other forms follow theinflection of the regular verb.